Undergraduate Academics

Although the petroleum engineering curriculum is designed primarily for careers in
the petroleum industry, it is suitable for careers in related areas such as ground
water hydrology, geothermal energy, solution mining, and underground storage or disposal
of fluids. Professional courses in drilling and production, well design, reservoir
engineering, petrophysics, well logging, and the phase behavior of hydrocarbons systems
follow basic course work in mathematics, chemistry, physics, geology, and the engineering
sciences. You should prepare yourself in high school by taking several college preparatory
mathematics and science courses. Additionally, the faculty gives specific attention
to the economic evaluation of drilling and production operations.

The department is active in obtaining summer employment in the petroleum industry
for its students. The department also strongly recommends that its students join and
participate, as student members, in the Society of Petroleum Engineers and take the
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination during their senior year as preparation
for licensure as a professional engineer.

The nationally ranked Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering at LSU has
alumni throughout the world working for major companies, small independent companies,
government agencies, and as independent consultants.

The petroleum engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://abet.org.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering requires that
a student be admissible to the College of Engineering. In addition to the College of Engineering requirements, students must meet the following GPA requirements at the time of application for
admission:

A minimum 2.8 GPA in all courses that apply to the petroleum engineering degree.

Transferring students admitted to LSU may apply to the Craft & Hawkins Department
of Petroleum Engineering when they apply to the College of Engineering. Students who
are denied admission to the department may reapply for admission in a subsequent semester.